CHERUB :: Identity
by Bejay
Summary: James Adams has left CHERUB. Lauren Adams is still at CHERUB, felling alone. When she goes on a training exercise it all goes horribly wrong. After recovering from an accidnt she is plunged staight back into the action. A jail break and a pane crash.
1. RUN

Greg "Rat" Rathbone was a fairly well built 15 years old. He had long and tangled blonde hair. Rat had spent the first 12 years inside a strict religious commune in outback Australia called the Survivors. He hated running. His legs ached as he rounded the last corner of the 400 metre running track at CHERUB campus. Rat had received 50 punishment laps for swearing in History Class. The Teacher Mr Codwa had a fearsome reputation as one of the toughest and strictest teachers on Campus beside the training instructors.

As Rat staggered back to the main building and waited for the lift on the ground floor for the lift up to his eighth floor room on the elderly receptionist noticed him and smiled. Violet had worked at CHERUB Campus for over 30 years. As the lift rumbled up he suddenly remembered the mound of homework that was due tomorrow sitting on his desk in his room. As Rat stepped into his room which contained a double bed, bathroom, laptop, TV and a microwave as well as a sofa, he dived in to the showering and changing into a clean CHERUB uniform, a navy shirt with a winged baby sitting on a globe with the letters of CHERUB around. He headed back down to see his girlfriend Lauren. He found her sprawled over her bed with one eye on the news hurriedly scribbling the last few lines to her Russian essay, before heading down to the dining room for dinner and the to the Dojo for Judo training. The two exchanged hellos and a quick kiss before going back down the corridor together and waiting for the lift down to the dining hall. After Indian for dinner and plum cobbler for desert Lauren headed back upstairs to quickly put her Judo outfit on before rushing over to the Dojo. Unfortunately for Lauren class had already started. The instructor Miss Tadaka yelled at Lauren in her mix of English and Japanese before giving Lauren washing up duty for the rest of the week.

*

Rat was sitting at his desk doing his homework while keeping one eye on the news. Rat had been interested in the news ever since he was rescued from He was surprised when his mobile rang and even more surprised to see that it was his best friend Andy Lagan's name who appeared on the screen. He answered guessing that Andy wanted some help with homework but was mystified when he heard Andy chattering, "Meet me at the Lake something is happening".


	2. LAKE

Rat quickly slid his feet into his boots before hurrying down the corridor and to the lift. As he waited for the lift he wondered it was that Andy had discovered. His mind jumped to all sorts of conclusions, possible a body or maybe possibly something even gorier. As the lift doors parted on the ground floor he quickly ran outside and down towards the lake. As he passed football pitches and tennis courts his mind was spanning. When he finally reached the lake he found Andy on the side shivering.

"What is it?" Rat asked.

"I saw something moving at the bottom of the lake" answered Andy.

"I think it might have been and body"

"How it could be a body, Campus is one of the most secure places in Britain'

"Well why don't you go down and check then"

"Fine I will"

As Rat tossed off his boots and prepared to dive he head was still spinning. As he dived in he swam all the way to the bottom. It became harder and harder as he went. When he reached the bottom his hands curled around something hard and slimy. He quickly grabbed hold with all his might and he kicked as hard as he could back to the surface. As he fought for breath he dragged the object over to the edge and pulled it out before collapsing on the ground gasping. As he sat up off the cold grass surrounding the lake he looked at the object he had just pulled out of the water. As he ran his fingers along the object he quickly realised that the object was a tree trunk. He sat down relieved but frustrated at his friend for dragging him into to this.

As the pair staggered back to the main building they relished the trouble they could get in if they were found in this state. Instead of going through the main entrance and the reception area the pair decided to take a back route from behind the tennis courts. The boys would have to climb to their floor but I was better than being court by their handler Meryl Spencer. As the trudged up the stairs they herd and angry voice that sounded like Meryl's. As the slowly and quietly but to their shock they found Meryl banging on Andy's empty door. The boys snuck back to the stairs and to the 8th floor to Rat's room. They both showered and changed into clean uniform. After they were all cleaned up Andy walked down the hallway to the lift. As he waited for the lift to come he hopes that Meryl had gone back to the office. But to his shock he found here waiting outside his room. He walked up to his door and said "May I help you Meryl?"

"Yes you can as a matter of fact and wipe that smug smile of your face"

"Yes Miss"

"Go get Rat and you can both get your sorry little behinds to my office this instant" barked Meryl.

As Andy caught the lift back up to the 8th floor to get Rat he wondered how Meryl had found out about their nighttime lake adventure. As the pair trudged back down to Meryl office on the 7th floor they hoped that they were not in too much trouble. When they knocked Meryl barked "Enter". The boys went in and sat down.

"Care to explain you little adventure?"

"I was just out for a walk when I spotted something moving at the bottom of the lake"

"If you suspect and intruder at Campus proper procedure it to call a member of staff and let them deal with it"

"What you two did was totally unacceptable"

"Rat what possessed you to go down to the lake?"

"I just wanted to see what Andy had found"

"Well it seems that you both played a part in this adventure, so what should your punishments be?"

"Rat you have just completed punishment for swearing now you go off and break campus rules haven't you?"

"Yes"

"I am giving you change room duty for two weeks and I am giving you Andy 150 punishment laps to run over a two week period. I hope your punishments sink in this time."

As the boys headed out of the office and to their rooms they exchanged glances but no words. When Rat returned to his room he found Lauren on his bed waiting for him. They sat down and watch television together before a quick snog.


	3. SUPRISE

The PTB Classroom is for the briefing of CHERUBS before a training exercise. Today was no different. As Lauren and her best friend Bethany walked towards the classroom after lessons one Monday they dreaded what the ruthless instructors had them in for this time. Usually training exercises are brutal and painful with an objective. Little did the girls know that this was going to be a very different experience. As they entered the classroom they found no instructors but 18 CHERUBS pouring over a piece of paper. As the pair headed towards the table that had TEAM 3 written on the side the noticed the other members of their teams pouring over the piece of paper. As Lauren grabbed her copy she noticed it was a Training Exercise Briefing

Training Exercise Briefing for Lauren Adams (Team Leader), Bethany and Jake Parker, Kerry Chang and Sam Boza. This briefing is not to be removed from the PTB Classroom under any circumstances.

EXERCISE – Survival Course

START TIME – 0100 (FLIGHT) 1800 hours 13 June

FINISH TIME – 0700 0100 (FLIGHT) hours 16 June

OBJECTIVE – Four teams each of four CHERUB agents and one red shirt aged 8 or older will be flown to the Amazon Jungle Brazil. The trained agents will each be assigned a position of operation by Team Leader. Agents must for fill this duty. Agents must use the limited resources provided to camp or shelter in the jungle for 3 nights. Extra equipment and rations can be found at certain locations throughout the jungle.

RATIONS AND EQUIPTMENT PROVIDED per CHEURB AGENT –

1 backpack

1 days worth of food

Emergency rations

Sleeping bag

Map

Compass

Mess set

Machete

Water purifying tablets

Water canister

EXTRA EQUIPTMENT PROVIED per TEAM

4 x 4 metre canvas tent structure

Small gas stove

Gas

Pots and pans

Rope

First aid kit

EXTRA ITEMS SUPPLIED BY CHERUB AGENT

Clothes

Shoes and socks

Toothbrush and toothpaste

All CHERUB agents will be provided with and emergency band - FOR USE IN EMERGENCY ONLY.

After reading the briefing and organising jobs the Lauren and her team headed to collect their equipment packs before packing. After a quick dinner, the 5 CHERUBS headed to the front of Campus for pickup. They found head training instructor Mr Pike there directing the CHERUBS onto the bus that would take them to the airfield a few miles from Campus. They would be flying out on a small military aircraft that would fly them to Brazil. When they arrive in Brazil they would be picked up by helicopter and flown to the jungle were each team would be dropped at a different location in the jungle. The teams had no idea of the conditions of the jungle and had prepared for all extremes. As they boarded the bus the assistant instructor Kazakov clipped and emergency band on to each agents wrist before shoving them on the bus.


	4. McEWEN

Lauren stumbled as she fell over in the stair well of the bus. Her pack slammed down on her back just as she was getting up. The training exercise ahead was going to be hard but she had survived worse. When she finally heaved herself up off the floor she stumbled to a seat next to Bethany. She dropped her pack on the floor but immediately regretted it when she looked up and saw the look on Instructor Kazakov.

"Adams, what do you think this is a Girl Scout camp" he spat.

"Sorry sir" Lauren said meekly.

"You will be when I get my hands on you" Kazakov continued.

Just a Lauren thought this training exercise couldn't get any worse the doors on the minibus opened once more. Jake McEwen stepped on board. McEwen was a 23 year old assistant mission controller who often worked with the Training Instructors.

"All set McEwen?" Kazakov asked.

"You bet sir" McEwen said.

McEwen strapped himself into the driver seat of the minibus as Instructor Kazakov sat down. They sped out of the campus gates and made the short trip to the small airfield close to Campus in less than five minutes due to McEwen's possibly catastrophic driving knowing that he would never get a speeding ticket in a car that was registered to a organise that didn't officially exist.

The plane that awaited them was a real beauty; it was not very big but had the UK Flag on the side and clearly had something to do with the British Royal Family. As all the CHERUBs and Staff stepped on board their jaws dropped open in awe. The plane had carpet down the middle and gold striped down either side. It was similar to the plane many of the agents had flown on when they were on the way to America for the Fort Regan training exercise. Stewards stood on either side of the aisles directing the CHERUBs to the various facilities on the plane and most importantly the self service kitchen area.

Less than 15 minutes after leaving Campus the plane was taxing down the runway with the luggage safely strapped down in the luggage compartment by the many ground crew waiting for them when they arrived. An announcement came over the PA "Please make sure your seats are in the upright position and your seatbelts are tightly fastened" announced the captain.


	5. ON BOARD

Bliss, Lauren thought as the plane lifted into the air and ascended into the air. Lauren had never liked flying but she found it hard to worry about it on a plane like this. Bethany tapped her on the shoulder and pointed out of the window where they could see CHERUB Campus from the air. Lauren had never seen campus from the air before and only just appreciated how big it was. She could see the outline of the banana shaped Mission Preparation Building and kids playing rugby on one of the all weather pitches.

Just as CHERUB Campus was just a speck the seatbelt singed turned off and Lauren quickly unstrapped her seatbelt and headed towards the toilets at the end of the plane. It was locked. She looked all around her looking for another toilet but she couldn't find one. She found it hard to believe that a plane this size had only one toilet. She thumped on the door and heard an angry retort from inside "I'm wiping my ass" Jake Parker said irritably clearly, annoyed.

"Well hurry up" Lauren said.

Several minutes later Lauren was still thumping on the door and Jake inside, was clearly enjoying his sense of control.

"Just hang on" he said in his sweetest voice, which he knew would only enrage Lauren even more.

"If I hear one more cute word out of your mouth Jake Parker" Lauren began, but stopped abruptly as Jake McEwen came and stood next to Lauren.

"What wrong?" McEwen growled.

"Jakes been in the toilet for about 20 minutes" Lauren said.

"Really" McEwen said a grin erupting across his face before he thumped on the door.

"Get out now you Pansy Popping, Penguin Lover" McEwen growled.

Jake immediately opened the door, clearly scared if McEwen. Even though Jake had aged he was still cocky in front of his crew, but McEwen was a different matter.

"Think your funny Parker" McEwen said.

"No, Sir" Jake stammered.

"Well, the good news is that you will have lots of time to think about that while you run 50 laps when we get back to campus" McEwen said, clearly pleased with himself.

"Yes" Jake replied.

Lauren held the finger up to Jake as she stepped into the toilet. An hour later she was back in her seat nattering away to Bethany when it happened.

*

Zara Asker wasn't happy. All she wanted was ten minutes of peace and quiet. But instead she was dealing with a group of very worried Grey Shirts. It was a Sunday morning and she wanted to b anywhere but her office.

"Well" Zara began "What do you have to say for yourselves" she said.

Billy Art, a recently qualified CHERUB agent stepped forward and began to talk. He had prepared the whole speech in his head as him and his other friends had waited for the Chairwomen to arrive, but it all came out in stutters. The group of kids had smuggled Cannabis and Vodka into Campus and had a wild party. They wouldn't' have been caught if it wasn't for one of them setting of fireworks followed by the fire alarm causing the building to be evacuated and screeching sirens coming to a halt. All would have been spared if one of the 10 kids at the party had been sober enough to phone down to reception and tell them that is was a false alarm.

"You know we have a zero tolerance for illegal drugs. I should boot you all out of CHERUB but I would catch hell from the Intelligence Minister" began Zara, but stopped abruptly as the phone rang.


	6. SILENCE

Silence. Planes weren't supposed to be silent, Lauren thought to herself. She looked to Bethany about to say something when instead she screamed as the plane started to shake. She was not alone. Almost everyone on the plane had the same reaction as she had. A mere 10 seconds after the shaking had started it had stopped. An announcement came over the PA system "Attention everyone, this is your Co-Pilot Daisy, we appear to have suffered some mechanical failure and we are trying to determine the cause of this. If everyone could re....." The rest of the Co-Pilots speech was lost in a burst of static as the plane started a downwards dive. Jake screamed out from the row in front of Lauren and Bethany. They looked over the seat and saw Jake crying with a bloody mouth. As the pair tried to help him, Kazakov came stumbling up the aisle towards Jake.

Just before Kazakov reached Jake, the plane did a roll and sent Kazakov sprawling on the roof of the plane. He screamed out in agony and was not the only one, as several others had tried to help their friends who were also injured. The plane stopped rolling and was level once more when another announcement came over the PA.

"This is your Co-Pilot again. We seem to have suffered a mechanicle failure with the rudder which allows us to turn the plane. We have adjusted our course for the nearest airport and expect to make a landing in approximately 15 minutes. Thank you", her voice was trembling but you could tell that she was trying her best to sound brave. A sense of calm came over the plane as the CHERUBs on board came to the conclusion that everything would be alright. The next 15 minutes past in silence. Kazakov was on the floor. He wasn't moving. Lauren wanted to try and help him but knew none of the first aid she had learnt could help him.

As the time closed in Lauren could feel the tension in the plane became almost unbearable. Another announcement came over the PA.

"This is your Co-Pilot again. All passengers please tighten their seatbelts and put the seats in the upright position in preparation for landing."

Lauren obediently tighten her seatbelt so it was almost constricting her airways/ She had never liked flying and this was the worst possible thing that could ahve happened to her. She gripped the hand rest as tight as she could and could see her knuckles going white.


End file.
